


To Rule the Kingdom

by Anonanonanonana



Series: Vampires and Queens [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Multi, Vampire!Oliver, Vampire!Thea, immortal!felicity, vampire!tommy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-02 01:53:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5229425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonanonanonana/pseuds/Anonanonanonana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity and the Queens have settled into a new normal now that she's been introduced to the vampire community, but the Bertinellis have plans to avenge Helena's death. Can they end the war between the vampire families? And what is Malcolm hiding?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reality Bites

**Author's Note:**

> It may help if you read Love Bites first.

Being a part of the vampire community, and an immortal, changed almost nothing for Felicity. She still had a flexible job being her own boss, she could relax on Sundays with mint chip ice cream and red wine, and she could enjoy the warmth of sunlight streaking across her bedroom in the mornings. The one thing that had changed in the almost year since Helena Bertinelli was killed was where she did this.

The night they returned from Italy she had been so relieved to be alive that she let Oliver take her to his house, to sleep in his bed, next to him…and she simply never left.

The place she had rented when she moved back to Starling seemed as homey as a hotel room, so after a month of stopping ‘home’ only to get something she didn’t yet have at his place, she simply cut her losses on the lease and packed up what little she had left there and moved it to Oliver’s.

When she agreed to let Moira throw her a coming out party it was because she wanted to embrace who she was now. To understand what she was. But reality came flooding in. The woman who had so warmly welcomed Felicity Smoak back into her family’s life was acting as if Felicity Queen was a given. As if she didn’t have enough identity issues as it is.

Finding the ring in Oliver’s sock drawer didn’t help her nerves. But he wasn’t pushing her, so she just smiled and ignored Moira, smacking Thea’s shoulder in return for her unhelpful amusement. Felicity knew she’d say yes if he asked, but she wanted it to be the right time for them, not when someone else wanted them to do it. So the distraction of Thea’s new boyfriend and helping a human navigate the world she knew so little about herself was welcomed. She took up some of the guests from her party on their offers to teach her new skills to go along with her new body – the strength and speed required a grace she had not acquired as a human – and eventually Moira’s early excitement and meddling over her role in their lives was forgotten. She was still Felicity Smoak, and she was simply living in sin with Oliver Queen. Several months of bliss had made her very comfortable with her new normal.

Which is why Oliver kneeling before her with a very shiny ring between his fingers had caught her so off guard. Or it could have been the fact that he decided to do this when just outside the restaurant where they were having their date a few minutes ago there were piles of vampire ash and a few dead hunters. But really, what was their life without a little chaos.

“Oliver? Are you really asking me this right now?”

He grimaced and cleared his throat. “Are you saying no?”

Felicity shook her head wildly, her blonde ponytail swishing from ear to ear. “No. I’m not saying no. I just…why now? We were just attacked. We just found out that Frank Bertinelli has been gathering an army. We just…”

“We just had an amazing date,” Oliver interrupted her, squeezing the hand he held in his, the other with the ring not wavering. “A date that I had hoped would lead to you saying yes.”

“Oh.” Felicity licked her lips, holding his gaze as her face softened from surprise to affection. “You planned this.”

He nodded slowly.

“And they ruined it?”

He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “Yeah.”

Felicity squeezed his hand, pulling on his arm to signal for him to stand up. She gave him a reassuring smile when he furrowed his brow. “Stand up so I can hug you properly when you put that ring on my finger.”

“Is that a yes then?” He asked as he stood up, pulling her towards him.

Felicity’s face lit up as she gave him a toothy smile. “Absolutely, Mr. Queen.”

He quickly sealed his lips over her mouth as his arms wrapped around her small body. She gasped at his insistence to meet her tongue with his and moaned when one of his hands found its way under the skirt of her dress. His fingers whispered along the top of her thigh as his palm pushed into the soft cheek of her ass.

Pulling back for breath she took in his smile, the one he reserved for her and only her. She returned it with a giggle. “I think you forgot something, Oliver.” When he squinted at her in confusion she giggled again and wiggled her left hand in front of his face. “The ring.”

He laughed and let her go, bringing the hand with the ring back around between them. He took her left hand in his and caught her gaze. “Felicity, will you marry me?”

Biting her lip to hold back the blush she felt creeping down her neck she nodded enthusiastically before answering breathlessly, “Yes, Oliver, I’ll marry you.”

He smiled as he pushed the ring on her finger, kissing her knuckles lovingly before gathering her up in a tight embrace. “I love you so much.”

Felicity snuggled into his chest. “I love you, too. And I really want to celebrate this, but we should probably call Detective Lance about what just happened outside.”

Oliver sighed. “I know. I just want to take a minute to enjoy this before reality settles in.”

Felicity snorted. “Oh believe me, I completely understand.”


	2. Circling the wagons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Circling the wagons and preparing to fight smart

Detective Lance paced in Oliver and Felicity's living room as they waited for Tommy and Laurel to arrive with Sara. Waiting for sunset to bring in everyone annoyed him, but he didn’t want to go over the grisly details from the events of the night before more than once.

Thea and Felicity sat on the sofa, browsing wedding dresses online, as Oliver spoke to his mother on the phone, filling her in. As he hung up Lance gave him a questioning look and both his fiancé and sister gave him their attention.

Oliver cleared his throat before filling them in on his conversation with Moira. “Mom wanted to jump on the private jet tonight, but I told her to keep up appearances. We can’t let Bertinelli think we’re circling the wagons. So she said she’d wait until after her meetings tomorrow and take a commercial flight as originally planned.”

Lance nodded. “Let me know which one and I’ll have a detail waiting for her. If she gets in during daylight hours it should be safer, but I can’t guarantee Frank doesn’t have some born vampires on his payroll.”

Oliver nodded. “Thank you, Detective.”

The front door being thrown open made them all jump and Oliver quickly stepped aside as Sara Lance rushed into the room, her eyes immediately seeking out Felicity. “Are you guys alright?”

Felicity smiled at the blonde and nodded. “Yeah, Sara, we’re okay.”

Laurel and Tommy stepped inside room, the elder Lance sister rolling her eyes. “When we woke her she was upset we had to wait until dusk.”

“Yeah, I thought we’d have to create a blanket bubble and hire a car with tinted windows just to get her here an hour earlier,” Tommy said with a small grin of amusement.

Sara sighed. “I know what the Bertinellis are capable of. Hearing that they set their sights on my friends…Frank isn’t Helena but he created her. That’s gotta give you pause.”

Quentin stepped forward and tugged his youngest daughter in for a hug. “It does, sweetheart. And we’ll all work on this together.” As his daughter relaxed he moved his hands to her shoulders and pulled back to look at her face. “Now, did you at least drink a bit before you rushed over here?”

Sara frowned and shook her head.

Quentin grimaced disapprovingly at her – it had taken months to get her healthy after they rescued her from Helena. “Honey, you have to take care of yourself. You’ve got the hunger under control, no need to change your patterns and risk that.”

Thea jumped up. “I’ll run to the kitchen and get her a bag from my stash before you start.”

Oliver sat down next to Felicity as Tommy and Laurel made their way to the other sofa. After Thea returned she directed Sara towards the hallway where she could eat in peace and still hear what the Detective had to say.

Quentin took in the group before him and ran his hand over his face. This was going to be rough.

“So, the ashy goons we all know were made vampires, but the humans, they weren’t all hunters. Two of them weren’t even human.”

Oliver’s brow furrowed. “Then what were they?”

“Born vampires,” John Diggle added from the kitchen doorway. “Sorry we’re late,” he continued as everyone turned to look at him as he and Roy walked further into the room.

“Detective, here are the files you wanted us to pick up,” Dig said as he handed him the files and Roy took a seat on the floor by the coffee table.

“Anything jump out at you?” Quentin asked as he took the files in question.

Diggle raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah.”

Quentin raised his eyebrows in response and jostled his head. “Care to elaborate?”

“I think Oliver should take a look first, then we can compare notes.”

Oliver stood as Lance held out the folders for him. His stance became more rigid as he flipped through the papers inside. Felicity became wary at the spike in her fiance’s scent. Whatever was in those papers was not good. The knot in her stomach twisted when he glanced at her before turning towards the other two men and whispering.

Felicity clenched her jaw and interrupted them, “So help me, Oliver Queen, if that involves me and you’re whispering about it I will withhold blood for a month.”

Thea and Tommy both snorted as the whispering ceased immediately. Oliver slowly turned around looking slightly guilty. Diggle cleared his throat and responded before anyone else. “We don’t know that for sure, but it seems to be related to your mother’s death.”

Felicity squinted in confusion. “I thought Helena…?”

Quentin sighed. “One of the born vampires that died last night, his DNA matched one of the cases from Bludhaven around the time your mom was killed. So I’m not entirely convinced that Helena was the only one involved. Also, I think the hunters, or whoever they were, weren’t there for Bertinelli’s goons. I think both groups were there to target the two of you.” He pointed to Oliver and Felicity before continuing, “But then ran into each other instead. Why? I don’t know. I was hoping that discerning some of their identities would help us figure that out. Knowing now that one of those guys was involved in a murder we thought was possibly Helena, well, that just makes this all that much weirder.”

Felicity shook her head. “The made goons. They told us that Frank sent them. They said we had to pay for what we did to Helena. They said they were the first of many.”

Sara gasped and sat down next to her sister. “Were those their exact words?”

Felicity and Oliver both nodded.

Laurel took Sara’s hand in hers and squeezed, silently inviting her to fill in the blanks.

The younger Lance sighed. “The first of many was how Helena referred to some project she had helped her dad with. Something about ensuring his men followed orders. They found a way to mesmerize without eye contact.”

Roy scoffed from his seat by the door. “So not only does this guy have vampires working for him, he’s got brainwashed vampires working for him?”

Lance sighed. “Well it seems we have our work cut out for us. Come on, Harper. Let’s go rattle some cages.”

“Be careful,” Oliver added as they left through the front door. He turned as his sister leaned against the wall next to the door.

“I never thought my boyfriend working for the police would scare me more than him working the night shift at vampire clubs as an ignorant human.”

“Lance has his back,” he reassured her.

Thea nodded. “I know, but we’re fighting a war, and we both know that collateral damage is acceptable for the Bertinellis.”

Oliver sighed and addressed the room. “I think we need to set everyone up at the mansion, temporarily, so we can keep an eye on each other until this is over with.”

Thea wrapped her arms around herself. “What if this is never over, Ollie?”

“It’ll end,” Felicity added from her spot on the couch, catching everyone’s attention. “We just have to fight smart.”


	3. Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bertinelli has more enemies than he thinks he does and Laurel gets a surprise.

Frank Bertinelli didn’t consider himself a patient man, but to get at the Queens he’d made an exception. After killing Robert he’d braced for an attack, but none came - even Malcolm seemed clueless that it had been his call. So he figured all he’d have to do is sit and wait, and then Starling would be his. A bow and arrow wielding hunter had taken out a number of his men over the last few years, but he simply made more. And much to his pleasure his daughter’s unhealthy obsession with humans had seemed to abate with time. Frank felt good about things. His plan was working.

But he hadn’t expected Donna’s daughter to come back to town. And he certainly hadn’t expected Helena to zero in on her. Though it had pained him to hear that the Smoak girl was likely dead – she would have been the most beneficial of allies if she had any of her father’s genes – it pained him even more to receive his daughter’s body from Malcolm Merlyn.

Helena may have been and done a lot of things he didn’t approve of, but she was his blood, the last of his line, and for her death, regardless of the circumstances, the Queens were going to pay.

A year later he stood on a rooftop across from a restaurant, watching his men as they made their way down the block to take out Oliver Queen. The smile curling one side of his lips felt foreign on his face, but the sneer that replaced it moments later did not. Another group of men intercepted his before they could get in the doors and none were left. Cursing under his breath Bertinelli made his way to his car, ready to head home and find out what went wrong. ‘Maybe I should just move forward with my plans for Merlyn’, he thought to himself.

He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice the figure watching from the shadows.

**

Sara sat quietly on the chair in Tommy and Laurel’s living room, watching as her sister paced by the bathroom door. The younger Lance hadn’t been terribly observant as a human, but her vampire senses told her exactly what this was about. She had noticed the change in her sister’s smell a week earlier, and she knows Tommy had as well if the unmentioned switch to decaf in the mornings was any indication. But they were both waiting for Laurel to figure it out.

Now Laurel paced unnecessarily for a pregnancy test that would only confirm what her sister and boyfriend already knew. The timer on her cell phone chimed and Sara stood to make her way towards the bathroom door her sister had just rushed through. Peeking in she found Laurel standing stiffly, the test hanging loosely in her hand.

“You okay?” Sara asked quietly.

Laurel shook her head slowly, her voice barely a whisper. “I don’t know. We never talked about this.”

Sara smiled. “Something tells me Tommy is okay with this. I mean, we have kind of already known for a bit and he waited for you to come to the conclusion on your own so…”

Laurel shot Sara a look that had her backing into the living room.

“What do you mean you knew?”

Sara gulped and tried to remind herself that her sister’s only human. “Your scent changed about a week ago. And Tommy’s been giving you decaf in the mornings.”

Sara let out a quiet ‘eep’ and ran for her room when the front door opened. Tommy was talking the moment he was in the apartment. “Hey, girls, I was thinking we could have a night in tonight, maybe order from the Chinese place you really love…Laurel?” His voice faded off as he saw his girlfriend glaring at him from the bathroom door. He glanced around the room for Sara and then quickly made his way through the living room.

“You all right, babe?”

Laurel took a step back as he approached, avoiding his hand that reached out to her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tommy tried to smile as he shook his head, her scent had spiked and it was mingled with something very unpleasant. It scared him but he didn’t want her to know. “Tell you what?”

“Tommy,” Laurel’s voice cracked and her eyes welled up with tears. She took a deep breath to gather her anger and direct it outwards. “I’m pregnant and you knew!”

Tommy sighed but held his girlfriend’s gaze. Tilting his head he silently implored her to allow him to comfort her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I had a suspicion but wasn’t sure what you would want. We’ve never talked about it and I didn’t want to intrude on your own time with it.”

She sobbed as he pulled her to his chest, kissing her hair and smoothing his hand down her back. “What are we going to do, Tommy?”

He smiled and held her tighter. “What do you want to do, Laurel?”

She gripped his shirt tighter and coughed through her tears. “I don’t know. I never thought this would happen. I don’t know if I can do this.”

Tommy grimaced. “I know the idea of having a family with me must be terrifying, but I promise I will do whatever you need me to.” He kissed her shoulder and nuzzled her neck. “I love you so much. Just don’t leave me, please.”

Laurel sniffled and pulled back so she could see his face. “That’s not…Tommy, I didn’t mean us. Vampire and human, I never thought it was possible for me to get pregnant. I love you. Of course I want a family with you. Just after all this time, it’s a complete surprise.”

He palmed her cheek and kissed her lips gently. “Definitely a surprise. But a good one I think.”

She smiled as he pulled back to catch her gaze. “Yeah?”

Returning her smile he leaned in to murmur against her lips, “Yeah.”

Laurel sniffled and laughed, wiping her tears from her face as she took a step back. “I think I scared Sara.”

Tommy snorted. “I find that very easy to believe. Your scent had me a little scared, too, let alone the glare and loud voice. You’ve got the intimidating momma thing down already.”

Laurel frowned. “Sara mentioned my scent, too. Does everyone know?”

Tommy shook his head. “I think part of it is normal for pregnancy, it’s just a stronger version of you, but sometimes you don’t smell just human anymore. It comes and goes. I think only Sara and I have noticed it because we live with you, but once we move into the mansion tomorrow we won’t be able to hide it. And we need to find a doctor in the community who can help guide us. I’m sure this isn’t unheard of but I am clueless and...” He sighed. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

The couple turned towards Sara clearing her throat from across the room. “Malcolm and Moira have connections. Dad probably does, too.”

Laurel smiled, leaning her head against Tommy’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the crown of her head. “None of us are in this alone.”


	4. Moving day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is moving into Queen Mansion. How long will Tommy and Laurel keep their secret?

“Oof!” Tommy exhaled, leaning slightly to the left as he tried turning quickly into one of the guest bedrooms of Queen mansion with both his duffle and Laurel’s carryon bag weighing him down, running into the doorjamb.

“Need some help?” Oliver’s chuckle echoed in the hall as he ran to keep his oldest friend from falling over.

Tommy laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know what Laurel packed, but I think she expects we’ll need rocks for the week we’ll be here.”

Oliver sighed, taking the carryon into the room. “It could be more than a week. You may be glad she over-packed if it comes to that.”

Tommy shook his head and rolled his shoulder as his bag fell to the floor. “I hope not. A week off work is one thing, but being stuck here too long is going to be an issue.”

Oliver smiled, turning towards his friend as he placed Laurel’s bag on the bed. “You can’t tell me you’re going to look past a valid excuse to not work?”

Tommy crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, staring down at his shoe as it kicked at the carpet. “Well…it’s not exactly work related.”

Oliver’s smile fell. “Tommy? What’s going on?”

Tommy raised his eyes enough to catch his friend’s gaze. Clearing his throat he pushed himself off into the room, grabbing his bag and shutting the door in case Thea was home. “Okay, you can’t tell Laurel I told you.”

Oliver nodded quickly. “Yeah, man, sure.”

Tommy threw his bag on the bed and sighed, running his hand through his hair before a huge grin took over his face. “Laurel’s pregnant.”

Oliver’s eyes widened as he stuttered out a breath in shock. “Wow. I mean, wow! That’s…wow.”

Tommy nodded, the grin still reaching ear to ear. “Yeah, I know. I mean we didn’t think it could happen. After all these years…I mean.” He sighed. “Yeah, we’re pretty shocked. We need to find a good doctor who can help us since we don’t know what to expect with the whole hybrid thing.”

Oliver smiled and stepped towards his friend for a hug. “I am so excited for you. Don’t worry, I won’t even tell Felicity until you two are ready.”

Tommy chuckled as he returned the embrace. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I promised Laurel we’d tell everyone together but I just couldn’t not say something.”

Oliver laughed as he stepped back. “So when are you two getting married?”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, no, still not happening.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “How come? You two have been together more than 10 years. You’ve lived together your entire adult lives. And now you’re having a baby.”

Tommy shook his head. “We don’t need a piece of paper to be committed. And I don’t want her to be legally associated with my family. We haven’t discussed it yet, but which last name our kid is going to have is another thing we have to worry about since tying him to my family could be dangerous. Being married won’t change anything so why go through the trouble?”

Oliver put his hands up in acceptance. “Okay. It’s between you and Laurel. Got it.”

Tommy ran his hand over his face to ground himself. “You wanna help me get Sara’s stuff? The girls and Quentin will be coming over just after dusk but I have all the bags in the car.”

Oliver nodded. “Sure.” He smiled as he turned to follow Tommy out the door. “Dad.”

Tommy snorted. “Please don’t start calling me that, it’s creepy when you say it.”

Both men laughed as they headed down the stairs.

Felicity and Moira met them in the foyer. When Oliver raised his eyebrows in question his mother smiled and offered an explanation. “Quentin called. He has some names to add to Mr. Diggle’s list of men to run by Malcolm before they’re added to the security rotation. Tommy, your father wanted me to remind you to return his phone call from this morning.”

Tommy scrunched his face in consideration. “Nah, Mrs. Queen, I’ll make him stop by to talk to me. I’ve got something to tell him anyway that I don’t think I should do over the phone.”

When Moira squinted her eyes in confusion Tommy chuckled. “It’s nothing bad. And you’ll know about it soon enough.” He cleared his throat as both Moira and Felicity looked towards Oliver for a clue. “Hey, he won’t tell you. He hasn’t been my best friend this long for nothing!”

Oliver clapped him on the back and headed for the door. “You said there’s more bags?”

Felicity huffed out a laugh and turned to find Moira eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, I don’t know what it is either.”

The Queen matriarch smiled. “Are you and Oliver all settled into his old bedroom?”

Felicity smiled and nodded but Thea interrupted before she could verbally respond.

“Is Roy here yet?”

Moira turned towards the enthusiastic brunette as she skipped into the foyer from the hall. “He’s with Mr. Diggle, but they’re supposed to be here soon. I had the room next to mine setup for him.”

Thea stopped, her face twitching in an attempt to not let her smile fade. “Oh, I don’t think anyone’s ever stayed in that room.”

Moira shot Felicity a playful glance before turning back towards her daughter. “Well with so many people in the house we had to open up all the rooms.”

Thea coughed. “So, who’s staying in the room next to mine?”

Moira pursed her lips. “There’s a room next to yours? Oh my, I must’ve forgotten about that.”

The younger Queen eyed her mother suspiciously. “Uh huh. Roy can stay there right?”

Her mother smiled. “Yes, dear, the room next to yours is made up for Roy. Not that I think he’ll actually be sleeping there.”

Thea’s eyes widened. “Mom!”

Moira snickered. “Honey, I’m old, not stupid.” Before her daughter could recover she turned towards Felicity. “I have to make some conference calls. Please let Oliver know I’m in my office if anyone needs me.”

Felicity smiled and nodded as Moira left the blonde to contemplate the speechless Thea Queen. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before.”

Pursing her lips, the younger Queen scrunched her face in question.

Felicity snorted. “You’re speechless.”

Rolling her eyes the brunette bounded up the stairs, yelling over her shoulder, “You’ve spent too much time with my brother.”

Thea stood in the doorway of her bedroom, realizing just how messy it was. ‘Maybe we can both stay next door?’ She thought to herself. Shaking her head she sighed and started picking up the clothes and magazines littering the floor. As she dumped an armful of cosmetics and lotions from the bathroom into the basket on her vanity she noticed Oliver leaning on the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest.

Seeing her catch his eye he cleared his throat. “You’re cleaning? Voluntarily?”

“Ha Ha big brother. I just don’t want Roy to know what a slob I am.”

Oliver chuckled. “You could just visit him in the public areas of the house. No need for him to see your bedroom.”

Thea smirked. “Mom said she isn’t expecting him to stay to his room.”

Oliver frowned. “No she didn’t.”

Thea huffed and took a step forward, crossing her arms across her chest. “Ask Felicity, she was there, too. Mom said she’s old but not stupid. So although the room next door is made up for him, she knows it might not be where he wants to actually sleep.”

Oliver held her gaze but stood up straight. “I knew I didn’t like him.”

Thea relaxed and chuckled, turning back towards her work. “Oh you love him and you know it. Just don’t be too rough on him.” She frowned and cleared her throat, focusing on a chip in the wood of the vanity. “He’s been really good about everything. I don’t want to scare him away.”

Oliver sighed, stepping up behind his sister and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Speedy, I don’t think you need to worry about that. He’s a part of the family now. Even if whatever it is you two have that I definitely am not acknowledging…” Thea snorted, a small smile appearing on her face as Oliver continued, “ends for some reason or another, he’s a part of this now. And we wouldn’t be the same without him.”

Oliver closed Thea’s bedroom door behind him just as Tommy, Laurel, and Sara were making their way down the hallway. Tommy was lugging yet another duffle bag as Laurel grinned ear to ear, unable to keep her eyes off him. Sara simply rolled her eyes. “If you guys don’t stop with the flippin’ heart eyes bullshit everyone’s going to know some….” Her eyes widened as she saw Oliver. “Oh, hey, Ollie.”

Oliver bit back a smile knowing exactly what she was talking about but shot Tommy’s worried face a quick look before playing dumb. “Everyone’s going to know what, Sara?”

The younger Lance sister sighed and pushed past the couple to hurry around the corner towards her room. “It’s their secret to tell,” she threw over her shoulder.


	5. Strategy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malcolm has plans...and as usual not everyone agrees with them.

Felicity and Thea eyed Oliver as he tried to avoid both of their glares. They knew he knew what was up with Tommy and Laurel, but he wasn’t budging. The couple in question hadn’t stopped grinning at each other, their affectionate displays somewhat out of character for their normally even presence. Digg and Roy shifted uncomfortably, keeping their distance from whatever family drama was about to unfold. Sara simply rolled her eyes and huffed indignantly.

“Dad should be here by now.”

Tommy finally swung his gaze to his girlfriend’s sister. “We’re waiting for my dad, too.”

“Well one out of two ain’t bad,” Quentin’s voice greeted them before he made it into the room. He greeted Sara with a quick hug and bent over to kiss Laurel on the cheek, greeting the grinning Tommy with a terse, “Merlyn.”

Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed. Lance hadn’t always been a fan of his daughter’s longtime boyfriend, but things had been comfortable between them for years, especially after they took Sara in. And the look he was getting now seemed almost as if Lance knew what Tommy had done to his daughter. Catching the guilty look on Laurel’s face Tommy knew she had broken and told her father.

“Laurel?” Tommy hissed through his teeth, trying to avoid catching anyone’s attention but that of the woman beside him. “Did you tell him already?”

“What? About my grandkid?” Lance asked without secrecy from the position he’d taken in the chair beside them.

“What?” Thea squealed.

Tommy sighed. “We were going to tell everyone together!”

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Then why did you tell Ollie?”

Tommy’s mouth open and closed in an effort to find a fitting reply that also didn’t confirm that he had in fact told his best friend.

Laurel pursed her lips at him, tilting her head in the way that always got her what she wanted. “He hasn’t been able to look anyone in the eyes since we got here. You know how bad he is at keeping secrets!”

Tommy snorted. “Not any worse than your dad!”

Quentin chuckled. “Touche.”

“Daddy!” Laurel glared at her father.

“What?” Lance shrugged.

“Am I interrupting?” Malcolm Merlyn stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised in question.

Moira smiled, greeting him with a hand on his arm. “Not at all, but I do believe your son has something he’d like to tell you before we begin.” Moira nodded at Tommy in encouragement.

As Tommy stood to greet his father with a handshake Felicity took Oliver’s hand in hers. Smiling at the happiness she saw in his face when he turned to look at her. She could tell he was elated for his best friend – the fact that he hadn’t told her she’d take up with him later.

“Dad, umm…” Tommy cleared his throat. His nervousness abated as the words he needed to say came to him, involuntarily smiling at the news himself. “I’m going to be a dad.”

Malcolm gave his son a tight smile. “Well, I guess that means we have one more to keep safe now.”

“You better believe we’re going to keep my grandkid safe.” Lance spoke up, catching the Merlyns’ attention. “So this plan you have in mind better work, Malcolm.”

Malcolm raised an eyebrow and turned towards Moira without acknowledging Quentin or the fact that his son had retreated back to the couch. “Moira, could you give Tommy the information for Dr. Sũn. She has experience in this area.”

Moira smiled. “I’ll make sure they have her number before we call it a night.”

Nodding he turned his attention to Felicity. “Miss Smoak, I think you should upgrade the internal servers at Merlyn Global as soon as possible. There’s a vulnerability we never addressed. I’ve seen some suspicious activity and think we may have an employee exploiting it to give information to Bertinelli.”

Felicity frowned. “That would require me being on site.”

Oliver shook his head. “I don’t think she should leave the mansion until we know what we’re dealing with.”

Malcolm shook his head. “We can’t let Bertinelli think he has the upper hand. If he sees us out and about, or at least those he’s most interested in watching, he’ll think we’re not taking the threat seriously. He’ll hit with less force than necessary, giving us the advantage.”

Digg stepped forward. “I’ll make sure she’s protected, Oliver. Having a bodyguard wouldn’t be unusual.”

“And I’ll be present the entire time she’s on site,” Malcolm added.

Oliver’s body was tense as he turned towards his fiancé. “I still don’t like it but it’s your decision.”

Felicity gave him a tight smile and rubbed his fingers in her hand soothingly. “John and Malcolm will keep me safe. And you’re always just a phone call away. Besides,” she hesitated as she turned to take in everyone else in the room. “We need to find out what’s coming next and I don’t have the right equipment here to do that. I may need to pop in to QC while we’re in the city, utilize that super duper firewall I installed a few months ago.”

Malcolm smiled and Oliver swore the temperature in the room dropped, the small shiver he couldn’t stop made Felicity lean into him.

“It’s settled then,” the elder Merlyn said to the room with an air of authority. “Tomorrow a car will be here at 9 am for Miss Smoak and Mr. Diggle. In the meantime, the new patrols are set at the gates and the perimeter of the property. Every one of the names I was given checked out so I have reinforcements on rotation in the pool house and stable. Should Bertinelli make the first move, we’ll be ready for him.” He turned towards Felicity. “I’ll see you at work.” And quickly made his exit.

Tommy let out an exaggerated breath. “Why is my dad always so scary? I mean, he’s scary to everyone else, too, right? It’s not just me?”

Laurel wrapped an arm around his and hid a smile in his shoulder as Quentin huffed through his nose.

Oliver nodded his head. “Yeah, man, I’ve always thought so.”

Moira rolled her eyes. “It’s because the two of you were knee-high troublemakers on the receiving end of scoldings. Malcolm is simply working through what needs to be done. Now, it’s late and I’m sure you all want to get settled. Quentin, should I have a room made up for you?”

Lance stood, offering the Queen matriarch a smile. “No, I’m on call tonight so I should be in the city. I have a meeting with a contact in the morning who said he had some info on the men we found at the restaurant. I’ll call you afterwards if it’s anything we didn’t already know.” He kissed his daughters quickly on the cheeks. “I’ll see myself out.”

Later that night Malcolm Merlyn paced in the foyer of his home. The halls of the mansion were silent, with the last of the staff having left hours ago at his own insistence. He didn’t want an audience for tonight’s visitor.

The voice surprised him, having entered without any noise. “I stopped Bertinelli, but it’s only temporary.”

One side of Malcolm’s lips curled up as he turned towards his guest. “I know. And we’re ready. I’ve let him know about a potential vulnerability tomorrow morning. Give him a taste of what it’s like on my turf.”

“That’s a dangerous game, Malcolm. What are using to lure him out? Surely he’d only be stupid enough to make a move if you were offering something he actually wants.”

Smiling fully Malcolm straightened his posture, arrogance oozing from his frame. “Your daughter has embraced her new life, but even she doesn’t know her full potential yet. He’ll come for her and get a surprise.”

The man’s face drained of color as the rage seethed within him. “I lost my wife, despite my best try – my best agent just wasn’t in time. And I lost him saving Felicity a few days ago. It’s too dangerous to put my daughter in that position! To put ME in that position.”

“She’ll be safe. I wouldn’t risk losing her just as she’s gaining stride. And she’s going to be a Queen. Can you imagine the power they’ll have? Power we can utilize to end this once and for all? Don’t you want that, Edward?”

He shook his head. “I can’t let you do this, Malcolm.”

Merlyn chuckled. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. You can’t stop me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, if you also read Time Marches On you already knew Papa Smoak wasn't really dead...but here's when he makes his way back into Felicity's life.


	6. New feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and a cliffhanger

Queen mansion was quiet as everyone settled into their rooms. Roy waited until Moira had bid her children goodnight, her heels soundless on the carpeted stairs, before leaving his room to knock on Thea’s next door. The brunette opened her door hesitantly, greeting his smile with one of her own when she saw who it was, but surprising him when she quickly pulled him in by his arm. He only had a moment to grunt in question before the petite vampire had him pushed up against the closed and locked door.

“Remember the first time you were in my room?” Thea asked him breathlessly between kisses.

Roy nodded as her lips made their way down his throat, her hands working on removing his pants as his own hovered over her shoulders in shock at her aggression.

“I wanted you so badly. Almost as badly as I want you now.” Thea’s hands stilled along his hips and she leaned her forehead on her boyfriend’s shoulder. He finally rested his hands on her shoulders, tenderly massaging with his fingers.

Panting she swallowed to steady herself. “Except this time I want to add teeth.”

Roy looked down into the gaze she turned his way. “Teeth?”

Thea nodded, stepping back slightly to give him space to contemplate the idea. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to jump you.” She smiled sheepishly when he snorted at that. “It’s just, I’ve been thinking about it, and every time we’re…together…I have to hold back. With everything going on, I don’t want to hold back anymore.”

Roy nodded, his smile fading to serious contemplation. “Okay, so, what does that mean. How does that work?”

Stepping back further Thea pulled her shirt over her head, then shimmied out of her shorts. Roy stepped away from the door, following her towards the bed as he shed his clothing quickly. The young Queen smirked at his predictability. “We’ll do what we normally do, except at some point I’ll bite you and it’ll feel really really good.”

Roy gulped. “So I just do what I normally do?”

Thea nodded. “Yeah, especially that thing with your tongue.”

She yelped when he lunged for her, knocking her back onto the bed, but broke out into giggles when his mouth assaulted her bare stomach. Her laughter turned into moans as they repositioned on the bed and her bra joined the clothing on the floor. Their hands and mouths battled for heated dominance until their bodies were finally warm and naked against one another. Roy rolled over to allow Thea to straddle him as she usually did but she pulled on his shoulder to stop him.

“Not this time.”

Roy nodded and grabbed a condom from where they had moved them to the bedside table before positioning himself between her thighs. “I thought you liked being on top first.”

Thea huffed out a small laugh. “Only because it prevents me from biting you. Once I’ve come I can control it easier, but at first the urge is overwhelming.”

“Okay.” Roy looked nervous.

“Hey.” Thea cupped his jaw with her hand. “We don’t have to..”

“No, no, I want to,” he interrupted her.

She smiled at him. “Okay, then let’s get this show on the road.” Wiggling her hips against him.

He grinned and leaned in to kiss her lips as he entered her.

The feeling lit the fire inside of her and her fangs descended. Using her hand to stroke along his neck she found the spot she wanted as he moved inside her. Thea wrapped her arms around his shoulders to meet his upper body with hers and licked from his shoulder to his ear. “I bet you taste amazing,” she whispered, causing him to drop his head to her shoulder and give her a better angle. Not wasting the opportunity she sucked the skin on his neck and then bit down.

Roy felt Thea’s tongue and mentally prepared himself for pain, but her whispered words made his muscles lax in lust. He barely felt her teeth as they entered him but the rush he felt from it made him moan. Their hips met in a languid pace as euphoria surrounded them.

“Oh god, Thea.” He groaned into her ear. She answered by wrapping her legs around his hips and shifting their angle.

She pulled away enough to reach his ear again, “I can taste your arousal, Roy, but I want to taste you when you finish inside me.”

She licked at the bite, keeping it open without taking too much more.

“You first,” Roy panted into her shoulder.

Thea chuckled. “No honey, the taste will push me over. But I can’t take much more blood.”

Roy moaned, his hips moving faster but erratically. As he pulled in a breath Thea bit down again, the flood of blood on her tongue giving away how close he really was. Her stomach clenched as her own release coiled in wait.

The new rush from Thea’s teeth in Roy’s neck pushed the orgasm from him and her first taste of orgasmic bliss in blood sent Thea careening over the edge. She threw her head back in a scream as her body tightened around his.

Roy’s body slumped as Thea’s legs fell away, but she continued to suckle his wound, helping it close. She sighed, rubbing the healing area gently with her thumb. “I hope that doesn’t bruise, I didn’t mean to detach like that.”

Roy snorted. “I don’t care. I made you scream. That’s all that matters.”

Thea groaned in embarrassment. “What are the odds that no one heard us?”

Roy laughed as he rolled off her.

Down the hall Felicity was lying next to Oliver on their bed, one leg thrown over his and her body wrapped around one of his arms as her hand soothingly stroked his chest through the thin fabric of his t-shirt.

“I can’t believe I have to listen to this.” He rubbed his free hand over his face.

Felicity snorted. “You do realize that she’s had to listen to us do that same thing, right?”

Oliver turned his head to glare at her, making her bite her lip to hold in a giggle. “She’s not doing anything we do, Felicity.”

She snorted. “Sure thing, sweetheart. But you should talk to your sister in the morning. She wanted to ask Roy about being a donor, so she may need some pointers or reassurance about live feeding.”

He sighed. “That explains the noise.”

Felicity kissed his cheek, nuzzling her nose along his jaw. “You and I need to have a discussion, too.”

Oliver rolled onto his side, cupping her face with his hand before leaning in for a kiss. “About what?”

“You didn’t tell me about Tommy and Laurel.”

Oliver smiled. “I promised I wouldn’t.”

Felicity pouted. “But I’m going to be your wife. I’m an exception to promises made to other people.”

Oliver laughed. “Not all of them. Little things that you’re going to find out anyway, or unimportant personal things…”

Felicity pushed up on an elbow and pursed her lips at her fiancé. “Do you honestly think that if it was the other way around Tommy wouldn’t have told Laurel?”

Oliver opened his mouth to defend his friend’s honor before quickly closing it as he looked past her shoulder for the answer. “Well, he would keep it a secret if I asked him to.”

Felicity tried to hide a smile. “For how long?”

Oliver chuckled and fell back to look up at the ceiling. “That’s the real question isn’t it. How long I would’ve held out against you.”

Felicity snorted. “No, I asked about Tommy keeping one of our secrets.”

Oliver smiled as he looked at her before furrowing his brows. “You’re not saying we have something to keep secret are you?”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “What? No! No…” A nervous giggle escaped her throat before she composed herself, shaking her head. “Nope, no pregnant lady in this room. Nuh uh.”

Oliver rolled onto his side again, running a hand along her arm to squeeze her fingers in reassurance. “You know it wouldn’t be a bad thing, right. I want that some day. With you.”

Felicity smiled lazily before nuzzling their noses together. “I do, too. But let’s get through the wedding first.”

Oliver smiled, leaning in for a kiss. “Deal.”

Felicity giggled as his hand moved to her waist and his lips to her neck. “Would we live here, Oliver?” He pulled back to look at her, his eyes questioning the context. “I mean, when we get past the wedding, when we start a family, will we live here at the mansion?”

Oliver sighed. “I can’t ever imagine us living here. This house will be Thea’s, for her kids and their kids. Not that I’m ever allowing Roy to marry my sister.”

Felicity laughed and leaned in to soothe her fiance’s sibling discomfort with kisses.

The next morning Felicity was dressed and waiting in the foyer 10 minutes before Merlyn’s car was due to pick up her and Diggle. Oliver leaned against the banister quietly shaking his head until he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I don’t like this, Felicity.”

She rolled her eyes, tired of discussing the same thing since she woke up sated and sore. “Oliver, sweetheart, if you keep this up you’ll have to go back to blood bags.”

He huffed air out through his nose as Dig’s snickers alerted them to his presence. “I’ll keep an eye on her man.”

Oliver nodded. “I know you will, but something just doesn’t feel right.”

Felicity sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, setting her chin on his sternum to look up at him as his hands naturally landed on her hips. “I promise. Anything seems off kilter, we call you.”

Oliver nodded again, leaning down to kiss her forehead as the driver knocked on the door.

The ride into the city was quiet and uneventful, and Felicity settled into the work Malcolm expected as soon as they arrived at Merlyn Global. After two hours and not finding anything suspicious in the server records she started to realize what Oliver had meant. Something just didn’t feel right. She looked back over Malcolm’s notes, but none of it made sense. She saw no traces of what was supposed to be there in any of the servers.

“Dig?” She called out from behind the servers where she had set up her laptop. Not getting an answer she stood up slowly, making sure her legs weren’t numb before attempting to step around the server tower to see where John should have been by the door. But no one was there. Peeking out into the hall she was met with quiet. Panic started to rise in Felicity’s mind. John wouldn’t have left her and there should be people working at the cubicles in the IT department. Something was very very wrong.


	7. Rush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor at Queen mansion sheds light on why Felicity is alone in the server room.

Oliver’s nerves hadn’t settled since he watched the car make its way down the driveway with Felicity inside. He had almost gotten on his bike to follow them but knew it would only make himself a target for Bertinelli’s men if he sat outside Merlyn Global and waited for her. He had to stay at the mansion and wait for Dig to call when whatever was going to happen finally reared its head. For Oliver it wasn’t a matter of if, it was when. He could feel it in his bones, just like the night he was going to propose and Bertinelli’s men interrupted.

He was making another round through the halls when the doorbell rang. As one of the security members answered Oliver was drawn to the disturbance the visitor created, nearly running into his mother as she exited her study.

“Oliver, darling, what is going on?”

He shrugged but didn’t stop his quick pace as he responded, “That’s what I’m going to find out.”

“You don’t understand. Where is Felicity?!”

Moira’s eyes widened at the deep male voice echoing through her home. “No. It can’t be.” She quickly met Oliver’s pace, the two Queens turning into the foyer at the same time.

“Edward?” Moira’s voice was small in a way Oliver had never heard it, not even when his father died.

The man stopped arguing with the security team, which had grown since his intrusion, to face his longtime friend. “Moira! Felicity’s in danger. Malcolm’s lost his damn mind!”

As his mother’s eyes filled with tears Oliver glanced between her and the intruder. “Mom? Who is he?” He turned towards the man in question. “And what do you know about Felicity?”

Before he could answer Oliver’s cell phone rang, Dig’s ID lighting up the display. Answering hastily Oliver’s heart seized in dread. “John?”

“Something’s not right, man.” His friend’s voice came through slightly slurred. “Felicity’s in the server room still but it got quiet real quick and I’m not feeling so hot.”

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is she alright? Were you dosed?”

“Listen,” Dig’s breathing seemed labored and his voice had thickened. “I don’t think I’m in control any more. I’m walking and I don’t know where to. I don’t want to leave her, but…I just have to. I…Oliver…something…” He heard Diggle sigh heavily and then end the call.

Oliver quickly tried calling Dig back but it simply rang until the voicemail picked up.

When her son growled in frustration Moira placed her hand on his forearm. “What did John say?”

Oliver clenched his jaw. “Something’s not right, he’s affected by something and now Felicity’s alone in the server room.”

Their intruder huffed and turned to leave, only stopping when Moira asked him to wait. “Edward, please, what’s going on?”

“Malcolm’s using my daughter as bait. And it seems Frank has made good on the mind control he’s always been so keen on.”

Oliver furrowed his brow. “Your daughter? Wait, Malcolm’s doing what?

Oliver’s phone rang again and he didn’t think twice to answer it when he saw the caller ID. “Felicity?”

“Oliver? John’s gone.” Her voice wavered slightly, but he breathed a sigh of relief that she was still okay.

“I know, sweetheart, he called me just before you did saying things seemed off and that something was forcing him to walk away. I need you to lock yourself in the server room and don’t open the door, not even for Dig.”

He heard the metallic noise of her doing what he told her to before she spoke again, “It’s so weird, Oliver, there was nothing wrong with the Merlyn Global server. I can’t find anything to warrant me being here today.”

Oliver held in a growl, trying to avoid scaring her. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself before confirming her assessment. “I know. We shouldn’t have trusted Malcolm.” He grabbed the jacket he’d left on the banister and headed out the door, Edward Smoak following close behind. “I’m on my way. I’ll explain everything when I get there, just stay where you are.”

As Oliver sped out of the driveway he gave the immortal in the passenger seat beside him a quick glance. “Okay, you have a few minutes now to fill me in. What do I need to know to keep her safe? We can go over everything else, like how you’re alive, later.”

Felicity’s father smiled. “I’m happy to see you don’t view her as the weapon Malcolm thinks she is.”

Oliver snorted. “Weapon? Felicity? What does Malcolm want her to do, hack Bertinelli to death?”

Edward’s face quickly morphed into a frown. “The fact that she was even born was miraculous, let alone undergoing the metamorphosis into not just a vampire, but an immortal. Her intelligence has always been a superpower, but combined with her blood and physical strength, she’d be unstoppable in the right hands. Or wrong, as the case may be. Frank wants her for all of it. He could drain her to keep his army impervious. Malcolm thinks she’s a good lure, but he also wants her power. But he’s more into psychological manipulation. I don’t know his grand plan, but I’m sure it involves finding ways to control her and keep her where he wants her, where it benefits him.” He sighed. “I left them so they’d be off the community’s radar, but all it seemed to do was make them targets. I should never have trusted Malcolm.”

Oliver shook his head and quickly dialed Tommy’s number through the car’s built in communication system.

“Ollie, man, your mom was just filling us in. What the hell is my dad doing?”

“I don’t know yet, but play along if he calls you, just give me a heads up what he says. But I don’t want him anywhere near the mansion. Dig’s out of commission at the moment, can you help my mom get the security team up to date on this?”

“Already on it.” Tommy’s end of the conversation became muffled as another voice interrupted him.

“Tommy?” Oliver asked nervously.

His friend cleared his throat before coming through the line clearly again, “Yeah, sorry, it’s just, Laurel’s getting Quentin up to speed, too. Is there somewhere he should be?”

“No! There’s a chance Bertinelli is using some sort of mind control. I don’t need more bodies to fight through to get to Felicity.”

Tommy muffled his end again, relaying the information to his girlfriend before confirming it with Oliver. “Okay, he said that he’ll be waiting for you to call him if that changes.”

As Oliver quickly drove downtown, weaving through traffic towards the Merlyn Global building, he tried to push down the anxiety that had been building all morning. “I’m almost there, Tommy. I’ll call you when we’re on our way home.”

“Be careful, Ollie.”

The young man sighed. “Always.”

Edward directed Oliver to use the underground parking garage so they could get into the building without being seen immediately, but as they made their way from the car to the elevator both men knew something was off. The air felt thick, heavy, like an invisible fog tugged at the body.

In the elevator Edward eyed the young Queen carefully.

“What?” Oliver snapped, annoyed at the scrutiny.

“You still feel like yourself?”

Oliver nodded. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“That odd feeling in the garage, that was Frank’s weapon. It should work have worked on you.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Well it didn’t work on you either.”

Edward smiled, his expression suddenly highlighting that this was in fact a relation of Felicity’s. “It doesn’t work on immortal blood. But you’re a vampire, it should’ve done something to you.”

Oliver shrugged. “I knew something was off, it made me feel a bit slow, but not out of control like Dig described.”

The elevator reached its destination before the conversation could continue. The doors opened to an empty hallway. The server room where Felicity was hiding should be around the corner, but just as the two men turned it they saw the door wrenched from its hinges.

“Felicity?” Oliver yelled, running for the room. It was clear that she had not gone quietly. Her training from the various members of the community having come in handy, but on the floor was a bloody heel and her damaged laptop. “No, no no, no!” Oliver hit the wall before turning towards his future father-in-law. “Where would they take her?”

Edward shook his head, clenching his jaw and fists in tandem. “This was Malcolm’s plan. I don’t know if he expected them to actually take her.”

Oliver grimaced. “Then let’s pay him a visit.”


	8. Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Edward find Felicity and there's blood involved.

As the elevator opened onto the CEO’s floor, Oliver gasped. Though the immortal beside him offered no outward reaction, his clenched lips betrayed his tension at the scene that greeted them. Broken glass littered the hallway from shattered office windows. A shoe matching the one they found in the server room taunted them from its place on the floor by the closed door to Malcolm’s office. Oliver quickly stepped forward, but his future father-in-law stopped him with a firm hand on his elbow just outside the elevator, earning him a growl. The immortal couldn’t hold back a small smile at the vampire’s impatience but sniffed the air to silently tell him why he had stopped him.

Oliver took his cue and refocused his senses, noting that he could indeed smell Felicity, as well as various others, including a human that was probably Dig. But Malcolm’s scent was noticeably absent. Oliver furrowed his brows in silent question. Edward simply shook his head and led Oliver past the stairwell to the visitor restroom.

After quietly closing the door behind them the immortal finally spoke, “Call Malcolm. Tell him that you can’t reach Felicity or her bodyguard and that you just wanted to check in. Don’t let on that we’re here.”

Oliver nodded, pulling out his phone and quickly picking out the intended contact. After several rings Malcolm finally picked up.

“Oliver, what can I do for you?”

The Queen bit his lip to compose himself before drawing on his lifetime of experience dealing with people he had to pretend to like. “Hi, Malcolm, I was wondering if you all are still at Merlyn Global. I can’t reach Felicity or Dig, just wanted to make sure everything is okay.”

His best friend’s father cleared his throat, ‘a tell’, Oliver noted with a grimace.

“No, we just arrived at QC. Felicity wanted to use the new system, but I think there may be a signal block in that room. She’s fine, I assure you.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Good, good. I guess there’s been no move from Bertinelli today then?”

“No, nothing out of the ordinary. Your fiancé solved the issues with our servers rather quickly. She’s quite remarkable.”

“Yeah,” Oliver’s voice wavered involuntarily, but he quickly composed himself. “Yeah, she is.” Not knowing what else to say or do he ended the call.

Placing the phone back in his pocket Oliver snarled, “That lying son of a bitch.”

Edward gave him a quick nod. “It’s confirmed then, he knows about this.”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah. What he says contradicts everything we know is true. I don’t know if he’s here, but he sure as hell is hiding something.”

“He may be wherever Frank is. I didn’t smell him.”

Oliver shook his head. “I didn’t either. But Felicity’s here, and we need to get to her.”

As he reached for the door Edward stopped him. “How do you know it’s her and not me – we share a scent.”

Oliver’s lips curled slightly, the smile lightening the tension on his face. “No you don’t. At least not to me.”

The men quietly exited the bathroom but found that sidestepping the glass in the hall was nearly impossible. Glancing quickly at each other both shrugged and simply started walking towards Malcolm’s office, crunching loudly as they went.

They expected to be greeted with resistance, vampires, something as they strode towards the door, but there was only stillness. Oliver quickly pushed through the door, scanning the office for any hint of his girl. What he saw caused him to pause, and it was just long enough for the entire dynamic of the situation to change.

Felicity had John Diggle pinned to the floor with a foot on his chest, his hands cuffed behind his back, as she held off four men with a glare and Dig’s gun. When she raised her eyes to assess the sound of the intrusion a vampire lunged at her, pushing her arm outward as the gun fired. Oliver tackled two of the others, quickly snapping one’s neck before getting caught up in a wrestling match with the other. His shoulder burned as he was pushed onto his back and he found himself getting fatigued quickly. He knew something was wrong but he didn’t have time to think about it. Bringing a knee up he caught his opponent in the groin and pushed him up and off his own body. Glancing quickly around for a weapon Oliver’s hand found a piece of the leg from the broken coffee table and landed it in the vampire’s chest with precision.

Oliver fell back to the floor, gasping for air. “Felicity?” He choked out, trying to lift his head to see if she was still in danger, but his neck was stiff and his vision clouding. “Felicity?” He sobbed, his chest on fire.

“Sh sh sh, Oliver. I’m here.” Her face suddenly came into view. As she looked over his body her eyes became glassy with tears.

He smiled and attempted to reach out to her with one hand but the pain in his arm caused him to yowl, his eyes clenching shut. He felt her hand stroke his cheek but he couldn’t get his eyes to open.

“Oliver, sweetheart,” her voice sounded miles away. “Oliver, please,” she pleaded. “Stay with me!”

Oliver sighed, the burning sensation in his arm overtaking his body as his mind clouded. “Love you,” he whispered as loudly as his numb lips would let him.

“He needs your blood.” Edward’s voice seemed to echo around him as he slipped into unconsciousness.

“But the bullet’s still in his chest!” Felicity’s voice was frantic. She looked up at the somewhat familiar man. “And who the hell are you?”

Edward Smoak smiled. “My sunshine, you’ve grown up to have your mother’s mouth.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “You’re…but…”

Dig groaned from his spot on the floor, gaining their attention. Edward moved towards him as he spoke, “I’ll handle the big guy here, but Oliver needs immortal blood before he gets worse. And I know he’ll prefer yours over mine.”

Felicity felt the tears run down her cheeks as she extended her fangs, wincing as she cut her wrist.

“Blood directly on the wounds will help them heal, but he needs to drink, too,” her father directed from the other side of the office.

Felicity nodded, rubbing her wrist over the bullet wound before placing it over Oliver’s mouth. She used her other hand to squeeze her arm, hoping his body would still respond even though he was unconscious. As she waited for a sign of life the bullet appeared at the opening in Oliver’s chest. It slowly pushed out and rolled off his side onto the floor as the wound mostly closed. She had been too mesmerized watching this to realize he was drinking until his hands came up to grasp her arm to his face, his teeth sinking into her nearly healed wrist to re-open it.

Felicity hissed in pain, causing Oliver to open his eyes, but he didn’t stop. His eyes were glazed over and she knew all he could feel at the moment was hunger.

“You’ll have to stop him.”

Felicity quickly glanced at her father, noticing that Diggle was no longer cuffed.

She turned back to her fiancé, placing her free hand on his cheek. “Oliver.” When he didn’t respond she got louder. “Oliver!”

His eyes caught hers as he pulled his mouth away from her wrist. His grasp tightening slightly before his hands relaxed. He glanced quickly from her face to her wrist several times as his eyes cleared and he released her completely. Looking around the room he cleared his throat, the blood on his lips and still visible fangs sending a rush through Felicity’s body, causing her to shiver.

“What happened?”

She smiled. “We saved each other.”


	9. Regroup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone regroups at the mansion after the attack at Merlyn Global

“You stabbed a vampire in the eye with your heel?” Thea’s voice hit a higher pitch at the end of her question, amazed at the tenacity of her future sister-in-law.

Felicity bit her lip and nodded as Oliver chuckled. “She’s pretty damn amazing, isn’t she?”

His fiancé nudged his shoulder with hers. “You only say that because my blood saved your life.”

He put his arm around her shoulders to bring her closer and kissed her temple. “I only say that because it’s true.”

The three were in the sitting room at Queen Mansion waiting for Tommy and the Lances to join them while Dig slept off the effects of Bertinelli’s mind control under the watchful eye of Roy. After Edward had gotten them back home safely and promised Felicity that they’d talk in private later, Moira took him aside to discuss what each side had missed over the years, especially in regards to Malcolm.

“I can’t believe I share DNA with that lying bastard.” Tommy’s outburst as he entered the room got their attention. “He claims that he saw a car off with Felicity and Dig at QC and that he’s been out at meetings since.”

As his friend paced the room in anger Oliver sighed. “If he thinks Felicity and Dig are missing, maybe he’ll go after Bertinelli. Edward said that Malcolm never planned on Felicity actually being taken. If he fed Frank info, he’ll know how to find him.”

Felicity jumped up and ran from the room, quickly returning with her laptop. “Maybe if I track his cell phone we’ll get an idea of where things are happening.”

Not finding anything initially, she delved into Malcolm and Bertinelli’s phone and financial records, trying to find something they could use. Everyone came and went as she worked. Oliver brought her dinner but she barely touched it, and she didn’t notice when her father sat in a chair across from her and simply watched her. As the evening wore on and the others called it a night, Oliver and Edward kept the oblivious blonde company. Oliver was slumped next to her and just drifting to sleep when her buoyant “Yes!” cut through the silence.

Her father chuckled as he stood and made his way to the couch to look over her shoulder at what she found. Oliver blinked groggily and ran his hand over his face before sitting up and patting the feet she had slung over his legs an hour ago to get her to shift so he could see, too. “What’d you find?”

Felicity’s victorious grin faded. “No GPS currently on for either but I did find a lot of previous communication between Bertinelli and Malcolm. It seems to filter down from Malcolm, so maybe Bertinelli’s not calling the shots after all. There’s been some odd money transfers, too. I traced some innocuous looking investments from Merlyn Global shell companies to a couple of Bertinelli’s men who died at the restaurant.”

“Malcolm said he was using Frank,” her father said hesitantly. His eyebrows furrowed. “He and Frank can’t stand each other, and though I could see Malcolm being part of an arrangement where he called the shots, Frank would never agree to that.”

Oliver sighed. “Well, we know Bertinelli has attacked us. We know there was mind control, which he was previously working on, at play earlier. But it went down at Merlyn Global, Malcolm put Felicity out there for Bertinelli, and he lied to us both before and after.”

“Maybe,” Felicity’s voice was quiet and uncertain. “Maybe Bertinelli was willing to work for Malcolm if he thought it would let him get an upper hand and pay him back for Helena?”

Edward closed his eyes in resignation and sighed as he hung his head. “Then this is so much worse than I thought. If Malcolm is working with Frank then…” He laughed humorlessly. “Then maybe I need to re-assess everything I thought I knew.”

“Let’s get some rest and regroup in the morning,” Oliver added. “We’ll keep Felicity and Dig a secret from Malcolm until we sort this all out. Maybe that’ll give us the upper hand.”

Both Smoaks nodded as Felicity closed out of her screens and removed a flash drive. Handing it to her father she offered him a small smile. “Here are copies of everything I found. You know, in case you have trouble sleeping or something.”

Edward smiled and took the drive. “I still owe you a conversation.”

Felicity smiled wider. “In the morning when I can think straight. But I can offer a hug right now.”

Edward chuckled as his daughter stood and embraced him for the first time since she was a little girl. “I’ve missed you, sunshine.”

“I missed you, too, Daddy.”

Oliver and Felicity made it to their room, exhaustion leaving them only enough energy to wash up quickly and fall into bed. As he spooned behind her she stroked the arm draped across her chest. “How are you feeling?”

“Hmm?” Oliver sleepily responded.

Felicity huffed out a small laugh. “You were shot earlier today. How are you feeling?”

“Good.” His voice was husky with fatigue. “I noticed a little bruising when I got changed but it seems to have healed fully.”

She turned in his arms, causing him to open one eye to look at her. “What if it didn’t? Heal all the way I mean. What if there are still some internal injuries?”

Oliver sighed and tightened his arm around her back as he closed his eye again. “Felicity, I’m fine. Just go to sleep.”

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it, focusing on her fingers running along his chest where she had watched the bullet extrude itself as he healed.

He sighed again and opened both eyes this time. “What?”

She looked up at him, uncertainty on her face. “Umm, well, maybe you should drink more, just in case.”

The corners of his mouth twitched but he stopped himself from smiling at how much that suggestion woke him up. “I would never turn down an offer to taste you.”

Felicity smiled. “Oliver?”

He couldn’t help but return the smile. “Yes, Felicity?”

“Bite me.” She batted her eyelashes. “Please.”

Despite their fatigue she giggled when he growled and rolled her quickly onto her back. Nuzzling her nose he took his place above her, settling his lower body between her thighs. “Are you sure it won’t be too much for you?” He asked quietly before licking a stripe across her throat.

Felicity moaned before responding, “I wouldn’t have told you to do it if I didn’t think I could handle it.”

It was Oliver’s turn to moan as she brought a leg up over his hip and ran her toes along the back of his thigh. He nibbled at her neck as their bodies melted together, their tiredness forgotten. Groaning her name he opened his mouth to fully extend his fangs before sinking them into her neck.

She thrust her hips in response to the surge in hormones as he sucked at the bite, his own hips responding in kind. His mind swam with the emotions that always overwhelmed him when she shared blood with him, but the flavors on his tongue distracted him. Oliver thought he had memorized Felicity’s flavor with the numerous times she’d allowed him to savor it, but something new was under the surface, causing him to draw less patiently as his brain chased the new part of her the blood was presenting.

Floating in the euphoric haze of his desperate feeding and feeling his hardening erection against her Felicity sighed. “We should’ve undressed.”

Oliver growled in response and pushed both his mouth and groin harder against her, causing her to squeak. The sound brought him back to his senses. He withdrew his teeth and lapped at the wound. Giving the spot on her neck a lingering kiss he pulled his head back to look at her face. “We’re too tired to have done anything with our nakedness.”

She wiggled under him, causing his breath to hitch. “That would argue otherwise.”

He glared at her. “I can’t help it that your blood does things to me.”

She smiled before leaning up to lick his bottom lip, which was still pink from her blood.

“Felicity,” he said quietly in warning.

She grinned mischievously. “I just wanted to see what was so great about it.”

Oliver dropped his head into the crook of her neck, laughing. “What am I going to do with you?”

She giggled and wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back lovingly. “I can think of a few things.” Both laughed as they settled on their sides, their exhaustion coming back to the forefront when Felicity yawned. “Okay, maybe you have a point. But when I wake up you better be naked, Oliver.”

He chuckled as he kissed her forehead. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

Oliver waited for her breath to even out, a soft snore signaling that she had finally succumbed to sleep, before he closed his eyes and allowed his own fatigue to take him under.


	10. Disappointment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malcolm's up to no good and Felicity talks to the most important men in her life

Malcolm Merlyn was used to getting what he wanted. When he saw on the security cameras that Bertinelli’s men had gotten to Felicity Smoak, he covered his own ass by leaving the building. Asking for forgiveness for not being on site like promised would be better than explaining why he let it happen. He’d get her away from Frank before he could use her and none would be the wiser to his deal with the devil. But then they took her to his office instead of taking her to Bertinelli. She was supposed to be capable of so much more. She was supposed to have taken them down, made the Queens think Frank had made a move and put their faith squarely in Malcolm. Instead both Oliver and his son had caught him in a lie and he had to go to ground. Frank would pay for this. Preferably before Edward Smoak came for Malcolm’s head.

The elder Merlyn walked with purpose through the underground tunnels at the back of the Merlyn Estate. The old bomb shelter had come in handy for his earlier research on immortals, but now he made his way to the only part of the tunnels he had visited in several years, cold storage.

The room was dim when he entered, lit only by blue LED readouts on the front of a dozen cryo units lining the walls. At 6 feet high and 3 feet wide they could easily fit most humans. Just inside the room was a refrigeration unit. Turning on one of the overhead lights, Malcolm checked the log sheet before opening it and selecting a vial. Moving to the sterile bench in the center of the room he opened a syringe and prepped the vial’s dark red contents for injection. Malcolm tensed as the needle entered a vein, then breathed out heavily as the immortal blood raced through his system. He told himself that he needed it to prevent Bertinelli’s mind control from affecting him, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he also enjoyed the power he felt when under the influence. Power that he thought Felicity would have shown when attacked.

Closing up the room and making his way back to the surface, Malcolm wondered how he could have been so wrong. Maybe if he hadn’t been weakened by emotion and taken Edward’s head like he did the others, studying him and how he was capable of having a child despite his immortality, he would’ve gotten it right.

**

Felicity smiled at her father. The man she thought she’d never see again was sitting next to her at the small table in the Queens’ breakfast nook. She had spent the morning telling him about her life and her mother’s later years.

“I am so sorry about your mother, sunshine. I tried to protect her, both of you, but my man just didn’t make it in time.”

Felicity sniffled and wiped a tear from her cheek, clearing her throat before speaking next. “What happened? I was told it was an accident, but Sara’s dad said it was a vampire.”

Edward sighed. “My disappearance wasn’t enough to put some people off from looking for me. Most thought I was dead, but not everyone. I got word that a vampire was looking for her, hoping she’d be able to tell where I was. But he obviously didn’t really know who he was looking for because she wasn’t the first he killed. She was the last though. That vampire is no more, and the one who hired him as well. After they took Donna from this Earth…” he shrugged. “I figured that if they wanted to find me that badly then I’d come to them.”

Felicity shook her head. “So it was just some random asshole trying to get to you?”

Edward chuckled at his daughter’s choice of words. “Aren’t they all?”

His humor vanished when she frowned.

“No.” Shaking her head she continued, “Malcolm isn’t some random ass. He’s a villain. Betraying his friends and family. Lying, scheming…” she spit the words like venom. “He’s worse.”

Edward nodded. “That he is, Felicity. That he is.”

The two were interrupted by Oliver rushing into the room. Flashing a quick smile he clasped his hands nervously. Felicity bit her lip and quirked an eyebrow, waiting for him to say something. Huffing out a breath he swung his arms at his sides before clasping them behind his back and averted his eyes to the floor. “Uh, can I borrow Felicity for a sec. I just need to talk to her about something.”

Edward smiled. “Of course. I’ll go get to know…well, someone.” He chuckled as he left the room, amused by his future son-in-law.

Oliver watched him leave before turning back to Felicity, who was watching him expectantly. He smiled nervously and coughed. “Uh, so, I was just talking to Tommy and something he said, well…” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, only opening them when Felicity giggled.

“Oliver, are you okay? I haven’t seen you this nervous since…” she shook her head. “You weren’t even this nervous when you asked me to marry you.”

He grinned affectionately at her and the tension in his body eased as he took the seat next to her. “Okay. Well, I was talking to Tommy, and he told me about how he knew Laurel was pregnant before she did.”

Felicity snorted. “Wow, that must’ve been a fun revelation for her.”

Oliver choked on a laugh as his eyes widened. “Yeah, imagine your fiancé… or boyfriend or whoever… knowing before you right?” He bit his lip, waiting for her to catch on.

Felicity laughed, nodding until she saw Oliver’s wide eyes. She stopped suddenly, coughing and squinting her eyes. “Wait, what?”

Oliver sighed and took her hands in his. “Last night, when I was drinking, your blood tasted different. Tommy said that Laurel’s taste and scent changed when, well, when she…” He tilted his head and fluttered his eyes to insinuate what was unsaid.

Felicity’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you asking if I could be…that?”

Oliver smiled, still nervous but squeezing his fiance’s fingers for support. “Is it possible? I mean we haven’t exactly been careful for a while now and I don’t remember the last time you had a period.”

Felicity closed her eyes, groaning as she thought back through the last few months. “Oh god, I don’t remember either.”

Oliver nodded, his face serious. “Okay, so we should probably get a definite answer, right?”

She shook her head. “But I haven’t had any of the symptoms. There are usually symptoms, aren’t there?”

Oliver laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know. Tommy didn’t get that far in his story before I was rushing down here to talk to you.”

Felicity smiled and removed one of her hands from his to cup his cheek. “We should send someone out for a test. In the meanwhile, I’ll go talk to Laurel. Get prepared just in case.”

As she stood to leave the room Oliver pulled her in for a hug. “You know I love you, right?”

Felicity smiled into his chest, nuzzling her nose against his shirt. “I love you, too.”

**

Oliver paced outside the bathroom while Felicity sat on the bed watching him, amused. When the timer went off he ran inside to check the pregnancy test they’d been waiting on.

Felicity chuckled at his enthusiasm and stood to make her way into the bathroom. “You know I peed on that right? Usually you’re queasier about my bodily functions…” Her mouth stopped when she saw the dejected look on her fiance’s face, her smile slowly fading. “Oliver?”

He set the stick back on the counter and grimaced. “It’s negative.” He cleared his throat and gave her a tight smile. “But that’s okay, I mean, it’s not a good time, right? We have the wedding, and Tommy and Laurel are expecting, and this whole thing with the Bertinellis. And your dad just got back. So…”

Felicity rubbed Oliver’s arm, squeezing his bicep before wrapping her arms around his and nuzzling his shoulder. “You really wanted this, didn’t you?” She whispered.

Oliver smiled, his eyes watery. “I didn’t even know I did until I thought...”

Felicity sighed and raised up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I know, me too.”

He pulled his arm free to wrap both around the small blonde. “Really?”

Felicity sighed, scrunching up her face as she set her chin on his sternum. “Yeah.”

He kissed her gently before settling his forehead against hers.

“But this does raise some difficult questions.”

When Oliver tilted his head in question she continued. “My cycle’s off, like way off, and my blood has changed. From what we’ve been told, my birth was unexpected. If I’m truly immortal…”

Oliver nodded, squeezing her closer to his chest as he finished her sentence. “We might not be able to have kids.”

She closed her eyes and breathed in Oliver’s scent. “Would that be okay?”

The strain in her voice made his heart clench. “Felicity, sweetheart, look at me.”

She raised her face to catch his gaze, her own face brightening in response to the corners of his lips pulling up when he saw her.

“Nothing will change the fact that I love you, and I plan to love you until the day I die.”


	11. Wedding plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding plans are made as the threat comes back around.

Felicity groaned and let the bridal magazine fall from her hands, but her face quickly perked up when Oliver’s chuckle greeted her from the sitting room doorway.

“Are you regretting letting my sister help plan the wedding?”

Felicity sighed. “Just a little bit.” When her fiancé smiled understandingly she couldn’t help but smile back. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Thea, but at this point it’s more her wedding than ours and I wish we could just elope.”

Oliver stepped forward to kiss the pout off her face. Sitting next to her on the sofa he took one of her hands in his and stroke her knuckles with his thumb. “Has my mom been any help?”

Felicity chuckled and cupped his cheek with her free hand before responding, “She’s just as bad.”

They both chuckled as they leaned forward to let their foreheads meet.

“And I’m getting really tired of being locked away here,” she added quietly.

Oliver sighed and pushed a strand of her blonde hair behind one of her ears. “I know, but as long as Malcolm and Bertinelli think the other has you, they’ll be going after each other instead of us.”

Felicity nodded and sat back, adjusting herself slightly so she could recline against her fiancé. “I haven’t found anything useful on either of them. We still have no idea why they were working together or what they’re hoping to accomplish. Mind control is such a grey area science-wise, I’ve gotten absolutely nowhere.”

“Dig and I haven’t found anything either. Last night we thought we had a lead on a Bertinelli safehouse, but when we got there we only found piles of ash. We assume Malcolm attacked and the info we got was old.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Oliver idly picked up the magazine Felicity had dropped. She smiled to herself as he flipped through it, stopping at a page that was earmarked. He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Tiaras? I don’t see you as a tiara kind of girl.”

Felicity snorted. “That’s what I told Thea! But she insists that a queen needs a crown.”

Oliver couldn’t hold in the full belly laugh and looked at his future wife with bright eyes. “I can’t argue with that!”

Felicity smacked his shoulder but grinned back at him. They both quickly jumped up when the front door slammed and her father yelled her name. Running towards the foyer she answered back, “Yeah! I’m right here.”

Edward Smoak’s face was red and his voice determined. “We have a problem. I need everyone to gather in the sitting room as quickly as possible.”

Oliver nodded. “Everyone should be in the house. I’ll start upstairs if you two can check down here.”

Felicity watched him run up the stairs before she turned towards the kitchen. She found Moira making tea but no one else before returning to the sitting room just as Oliver made his way down the stairs. “Tommy and Laurel are on their way down. Did you find my mom?”

Felicity nodded. “Yeah, but only her.”

“That’s okay, I got everyone else.”

Edward stepped into the foyer. “All good?”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, and Lance was already on his way here to visit with Laurel and Sara so we shouldn’t have to wait long for him.”

Edward nodded. “Good, he’ll need to hear this, too.”

Once they were all settled in the sitting room the immortal recounted the fruitless days of information gathering since he made his re-appearance in the community. “I don’t have many loyal contacts left but I’ve reconnected with who I could to continue the search for Malcolm on my own. Today it finally paid off. I know Oliver and Mr. Diggle have had trouble finding Bertinelli because Malcolm’s been hitting his safehouses first. Well, one of Bertinelli’s men took a little too much pride in being one of his goons, and eventually I found someone who was more than happy to direct someone his way. I figured I might run into Malcolm if I’m looking for the same people he’s looking for.

The fool was easy to find, and it was only a matter of hours before he was leading me to one of their safehouses. Frank wasn’t there, but enough of his men were that there was plenty of conversation to eavesdrop on.” Edward took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face.

“Frank and Malcolm are working together again. It seems that at some point in the last day or so they finally crossed paths and realized that neither of them had Felicity. So whatever plan saving Felicity at Merlyn Global interrupted is back on.”

The news was met with silence until Moira cleared her throat. “I think that means it’s time for a wedding.”

Oliver furrowed his brows and stared at his mother. “How does any of this translate to ‘let’s throw a party’?

His mother tilted her head and smiled at him like she had when he was 5 and couldn’t understand why ice cream had to wait until after dinner. “Oliver, there is no longer a reason to hide your fiancé away in this house. And the sooner Felicity is a Queen, the sooner she will be under the full, undeniable protection of our name, our legacy, and our legal and financial prowess in both the vampire and human communities.”

Edward sighed and shook his head. “Moira, I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do right now. I don’t doubt my daughter is under your protection, and neither does the community. The concern right now is exposure. Being out in the open is what they want.”

Moira glared at him. "Frank and Malcolm wouldn’t dare attack when we’re surrounded by vampires and press. Let alone when you're present."

Felicity bit her lip, glancing between Moira and her father. Oliver noticed her uncertainty and squeezed her hand. “Felicity?”

“Hmm?” She glanced up at him.

“What do you want to do?”

She sighed before glancing at the other occupants of the room. Lance gave her a small smile and an encouraging nod. “I understand my dad’s concern, but I also just want to be married.” She smiled and looked up at Oliver. “They ruined the proposal, they’ve made life during our engagement difficult, let’s just get married before they can ruin that, too.”

Oliver smiled and addressed the room, “Then we go with my mom’s plan. But it’ll be quick and soon. Simple,” he glared at Thea who pouted but remained quiet. “But with the safety of having a lot of backup around. Also…” He trailed off, his eyes squinted in thought. “We may be able to use it to our advantage. We could send Bertinelli and Malcolm on a wild goose chase to an advertised honeymoon destination while we hide out here or at a safehouse. Then Edward could come at them from behind.”

Edward nodded. “I can get on board with that.”


	12. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As is often the case for the Queen family, things do not go as planned.

Moira and Thea got the wedding ready in a week. Despite the short notice, Felicity was going to be walking down the aisle with a hundred pairs of eyes watching her. But she had found the perfect dress and Oliver hadn’t stopped throwing her shy smiles since they realized this was really happening, so she couldn’t find it in herself to be too nervous as the days passed.

Waking early on the morning of her wedding day she didn’t even feel worried about the war with the Bertinellis any more. Her father was offering up an immortal blood boost to their most trusted security personnel and by the end of the day Oliver would be her husband. Felicity greeted her last day as an unmarried woman with the same heart-stopping grin that she wore as she said “I do” in the gardens of Queen mansion. With titanium wedding bands on their fingers the new Mr. and Mrs. Queen let out relieved giggles as they pulled back from their first kiss as husband and wife, unheard by anyone over the congratulating applause of their friends and family.

And just as it seemed they had gotten away with a happy moment, Bertinelli’s men crashed the wedding.

A commotion from the side of the house garnered their attention, but before anyone realized what was happening Moira was shot and on the ground. Edward jumped up from his seat beside her and ran to intercept the men starting to make their way around the side of the house. Dig left his place next to Oliver to do the same as Tommy and Roy got Laurel and Thea inside the mansion as quickly as possible along with the few non-vampire guests, Quentin already dialing for help as he covered their exit.

Felicity couldn't consciously get her eyes to leave the spot where Moira lay, eyes still open, the specialized bullet to the heart unquestionably ending her. She didn't feel her husband's hand leave hers as Oliver roared with rage at the sight of his mother. He rushed forward, taking out several of Bertinelli’s vamps before laying his eyes on Malcolm Merlyn, who smirked from the sidelines. Oliver felt the thickness in the air that indicated Frank was attempting to use his mind control, but they had prepared for that possibility and his men were falling quickly to the Queens’ security and remaining guests.

Bertinelli appeared next to Malcolm, visibly upset. “Why isn’t it working?”

Malcolm shot him a grin before turning and walking away.

“Merlyn! This isn’t over! Where do you think you’re going?”

Oliver ran towards the men, taking Bertinelli by surprise. His wide eyes met Oliver’s as he looked up from the ground where he had been tackled.

“If I can’t get him, I’ll take you,” Oliver growled before yanking him up and hauling him over to Dig.

Looking around to assess the remaining skirmishes Oliver noticed something white laying at the end of the aisle where he had kissed Felicity but a minute before. His breath caught as he realized what it was.

“Felicity?” Rushing towards her he felt for a pulse. Blood covered the front of her dress from what looked to be stab wounds in her chest and he held his breath. Her pulse was weak but still there. Scooping her up in his arms he ran towards the mansion. As he set her on the kitchen island her hand waved weakly in an attempt to hold on to him.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re safe now,” He told her quietly.

Quickly biting into his wrist Oliver lifted it to her mouth, hoping to counteract her blood loss. She suckled feebly for a few second before throwing her head back and screaming in pain.

Tears wet Oliver’s cheeks as he stroked her hair back from her face and took one of her hands in his. “If you can’t drink I don’t know what to do.” His tightly controlled breaths burned his lungs and his fingers left bloody smears on her face.

Her eyes were glassy and looking around the room, not able to find him. “Oliver?”

“I’m right here.” He kissed her hand forcefully and continued running his hand over her head.

Her face contorted as she started to sob. “It hurts so bad. Why does it hurt?”

“Felicity, sweetheart. Please don’t go. Please.”

With his focus solely on Felicity Oliver didn’t hear Edward come into the kitchen. He startled as he noticed the immortal standing beside them, his eyes assessing the situation. Without prelude he opened a vein for his daughter.

Oliver shook his head. “I already tried that.”

Edward smiled gently as Felicity started to sit up and draw strongly on his wrist.

Taking in Oliver’s furrowed brow the elder Smoak continued, “She’s immortal, Oliver. Regular vampire blood takes away her ability to heal naturally. She can help you, but you just have to let her body work on its own if I’m not around.”

Oliver let out a relieved sigh and laid his head on their joined hands on her stomach. He felt his shoulders relax at the scent of her blood and the pulse he could feel quickening in her wrist. He didn’t lift his head until he felt her other hand running through his hair. Her eyes met his and he released the sob he didn’t realize he’d been holding in.

“I thought I lost you.”

Felicity sighed. “I thought you had, too.”

After helping his new wife upstairs to clean up and patch the small flesh wounds still left on her chest Oliver checked in with his security to assess the situation. Malcolm got away, but from what they could tell all of Bertinelli’s men were down except one, who was currently stewing with his boss in a heavily guarded garden shed. They had lost a few of their own, most notably Moira, but Oliver would deal with that emotional fallout later. First, he wanted to have a chat with Frank.

The head of the Bertinelli family was easy to break in Oliver’s current state of mind. Edward didn’t even feign stepping in to stop the new head of the Queen family from doing what he needed to. Moira was an old and dear friend – the immortal agreed that by the end of this Frank will have to die anyway. He simply stands by the door of the shed to prevent unwanted visitors and takes mental notes on anything the tortured vampire says.

“Malcolm is working for me but I swear it was his idea to grab your girl!” Bloody spittle flies from Bertinelli’s mouth as he gives in to the physical intimidation. “Her blood, it would strengthen my soldiers.”

The goon who had been quiet until now laughed. “Merlyn was never going to let you have her. We had orders to kill you once we had her secured.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you were played Frankie boy.” He stepped back from the vampire who had been his sole focus until now and moved to the other one. “What was Merlyn planning to do with her?”

The vampire grinned creepily. “She is needed to be the First of Many – we will all be immortal!”

“Nonsense.” Frank turned his head as much as he could given his restrained limbs. “My totem for the mind control…”

“Is useless against immortals!!”

“No. No!”

The goon laughed at Bertinelli’s distress.

Frank looked between Edward and Oliver frantically. The immortal gave him a small nod. “It’s true. I could tell that you had tried to use the totem, but it had no effect on me. Nor on any who drank my blood recently.”

Bertinelli clenched his jaw and struggled against his restraints, frustrated with the turn of events. Oliver stepped back next to his father-in-law, watching the vampire wear himself out. After a few minutes Frank finally relaxed, resigned to his fate. “Well, seeing that the partnership I thought I had is actually a double-cross, I have a few secrets of Malcolm’s you might be interested in. At least one of us will have the pleasure of ending his life.”

When the goon began harassing Bertinelli Oliver pulled an arrow from a quiver stashed behind the bench by the door and shut the vampire up permanently. As he turned to dust Oliver raised an eyebrow at Bertinelli. “You were saying?”

The elder vampire gave him a quick nod and continued, “He’s been experimenting with immortal blood for years. I knew he had killed immortals to try to extend his own life, but I hadn’t known about the first of whatever thing he was working on.”

Edward stepped forward to address the revelation about the deaths of the immortals but Oliver spoke up first. “One of your men that you sent to the restaurant said that to Felicity. First of many.”

Frank shook his head. “I’ve heard some of them say it, but I didn’t know it had anything to do with this, or Malcolm.”

Edward sighed heavily. “So all this time, he’s been trying to make himself immortal? And now he thinks my daughter’s the key?”

Oliver scrubbed a hand over his face. “Seems Malcolm’s been playing all of us.”

“And he’ll pay,” Edward added through gritted teeth before stepping forward and killing Frank Bertinelli once and for all.


	13. Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moira's funeral and they find some answers...and shower sex

Moira Dearden Queen was celebrated in a traditional memorial service for a vampire of her standing. This was a part of the culture Felicity could have gone her whole life without learning about firsthand. Sitting in the front row of chairs setup in the garden where she had gotten married just a few days before, she held Thea’s left hand and Roy her right as the line of mourners and well-wishers paid their respects to the family. The newest Queen squeezed her sister-in-law’s hand in comfort while stealing glances in hopes of seeing her husband. Oliver had dressed for the service early so he could follow a lead with Felicity’s father before the service, but as far as she could tell they hadn’t made it back yet.

Relaxing slightly when the straggling end of the line came into view Felicity startled when a hand landed on her shoulder. Looking up she found Oliver looking back at her, his eyes bloodshot and mouth set in a grim line. She placed her other hand over his and gave him an understanding grimace. The couple turned back to the people addressing Thea without saying a word, knowing that this wasn’t the time or place.

As the mansion’s ballroom filled with mourners to partake in refreshments, Roy led Thea to her room to grieve in private. The young woman had put on a brave face and held her head high throughout the service and procession, telling Felicity when she expressed concern about her state of mind that she was not only a Queen, but a Dearden woman, and she wasn’t about to let her mother leave this world without the community knowing her strength lived on. But the façade was breaking and Oliver insisted it was his turn to handle things. He held Felicity’s hand in the crook of his arm, needing her for support, which she offered without question. They mingled only as much as necessary, opting for quiet contemplation in the corner whenever possible. As the guests started to leave they both breathed a sigh of relief and allowed Dig and Edward to wind things down, making their way to their room.

Felicity kicked off her heels and plopped down on the settee as Oliver closed and locked the door behind them. He fell against it, his hands in the pockets of his slacks as he bowed his head and sighed.

“You okay?” Felicity’s voice was quiet, hesitant about what she should ask.

Oliver looked up, the tears wet in his eyes. “I don’t know.” His voice faltered so he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I was late. Was Thea okay?”

Felicity gave him a small but sincere smile. “She was amazingly strong. Your mom would have been proud.”

He smiled slightly before his face fell and he had to choke back a sob. Felicity jumped up to comfort him but he shook his head and wiped his face, pushing away from the door. “I’m okay.”

She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest anyway. He returned the embrace and huffed out an amused chuckle as she wiped her nose back forth between his pecs. Kissing the top of his wife’s head he mumbled into her hair, “Are you okay?”

Felicity sighed. “I have to admit, there’s been a lot to deal with lately. And your mom had become a good friend. I’ll miss her.”

She felt her husband nod his head against her and nuzzle her hair with his nose.

Pulling her head back she looked up at him. “Were you late because you found something?”

Oliver sighed and ran his hands down her arms to take her hands in his before clearing his throat again. “Yeah. Your dad got us into Bertinelli’s office. We found the totem he used for his mind control and files about everything he had planned with Malcolm. Edward didn’t want to leave until we were sure we had found it all, just in case it got cleaned out before we could make it back.”

Felicity’s breath caught. “Oliver, that’s….oh my god. That’s everything we need.”

Oliver grimaced. “Not quite. Malcolm was the one pulling the strings. This isn’t over until we find him.”

Felicity nodded. “Okay, then what do we do next?”

Oliver pulled his wife towards the bathroom. “We take a shower and wash the day off of us. Then we cuddle in bed, to watch a movie or play 20 questions, or just sleep. I don’t really care, as long as it’s just our bubble, where nothing in the outside world can get to us. Then we get up early and bring my heartbroken sister breakfast in bed and spend the day with her and Roy, widening our bubble. Then, I might even consider letting others join.”

“But the lead…”

Oliver shook his head and continued into the bathroom, dropping her hand to undo his tie and cufflinks. “Your dad is handling it. He’s going to coordinate with the hunters. Tommy and Quentin were both there today at Bertinelli’s and they told me they’ve got this part of it. I can take time to grieve my mother and to be there for my sister and…” He smiled and cleared his throat before turning his gaze towards Felicity. “And enjoy being a newlywed.”

Felicity gulped. “Oh.”

Oliver removed his shirt and pants, leaving them on the floor before heading to the shower and turning it on. Satisfied with the temperature of the water he turned to his wife, who hadn’t moved. “Felicity.”

She blinked and shook her head to clear it. “Yeah?”

“Take your clothes off.”

She huffed out a laugh before wiggling out of her dress. “I didn’t think you’d be in the mood for this.”

Oliver removed his boxers and stepped into the shower, leaving the door open for her. “I’m just leaving my options open, and I really didn’t want to shower alone.”

“Well I am always available to help with those hard to reach places.” Felicity’s voice echoed in the showed as she stepped in. Closing the glass door she stood chest to chest with her husband, looking up into his haunted eyes. “Hi.”

In response, he smiled a genuine smile for the first time since their wedding ceremony. “Hi.”

“We’re naked.”

He nodded. “We are.”

“And wet.”

He chuckled. “Oh, are you now?”

Felicity snorted. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Licking his lips Oliver dropped his head to whisper in her ear. “I can change that, Mrs. Queen.”

His words made her shiver and she turned her head to capture his lips. Her hands gently soothed him, rubbing his back and shoulders as he hugged her tightly to his chest. Pulling back for breath Oliver nuzzled her cheek with his nose and then licked her throat, causing her to arch away in offering. Scraping his teeth along the sweet spot he considered his she sighed and ran her fingers through his hair.

“Felicity?”

“Mmhmm?”

“I want to try something different.”

She froze before turning her head towards him. “Different how?”

He cleared his throat and stood up straight, holding her hips as she set her hands on his shoulders. “Rough.” He raised an eyebrow. “Well, rougher than usual.”

Squinting her eyes in question, she took a deep breath. “I don’t understand.”

“Do you trust me?”

Felicity offered him a gentle smile. “Of course I do.”

Oliver clenched his jaw and nipped at her lips. “Then turn around and put your hands on the glass.”

She nodded slowly and did as he asked, shivering as he ran a hand across her hips. The only sound in the enclosed space was the water and Oliver’s increasingly heavy panting. Her thighs quivered in anticipation as he soaped up her back and legs. Relaxed from his attention she tensed when he suddenly smacked her ass.

She moaned as he soothed the spot and leaned forward to sloppily kiss her spine. “I love your ass,” he mumbled against her.

Felicity giggled. “I’ve noticed.”

“Sometimes, I just want to bite it.”

Her breath stuttered at his admission and her arousal soared when she realized where this was going. She nearly knocked him off balance when she quickly stood and turned around, kissing him fiercely before panting against his lips. “For the record, I am totally on board with that. No more prep, baby, I’m ready.”

Oliver nodded and pushed her back into position. He grabbed her ass cheeks, smacking them and pinching them to redden them up before kneeling behind her. Continuing to knead them he licked at her lower lips, using his teeth to scratch and redden his teeth with her blood. Spurred on by her moans he licked around the base of one cheek and sunk his teeth into the flesh at the very top of her thigh as he plunged a finger into her.

“Oliver!” Felicity bucked her hips involuntarily, causing his teeth to tear her flesh. The pain made her freeze before his lips were sucking on the wound, helping it heal as he added another finger inside her. Her arousal once again taking precedence and fogging her brain.

She muscles started to shake and focused on where her hands held her up against the glass, not noticing that Oliver had stopped drinking and slowed his hand inside her until he pulled out of her. He chuckled when she whined and wrapped an arm around her, holding her up. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. Bring an arm up around my neck.”

Felicity did as he told her, reaching her other arm around to scratch at his hip. She sighed when he finally thrust into her. He nipped at her neck as he thrust sharply, causing her to gasp at the force of his movements inside her. His free hand grabbed her chin and turned her face away so he could sink his fangs into her neck. The shot of euphoria caused an orgasm to crash over her, her screams echoing through the room.

Oliver hummed in satisfaction at her noises, holding her tighter against his chest as he bent her over in an effort get as deep as possible. He left the spot on her throat to sink his teeth into her shoulder causing another wave of euphoria and another orgasm to crash over her.

He kept up his biting game until she lost count of her orgasms and he was grunting out breaths, holding up her entire weight on his own. He slowed and licked her remaining wounds to ensure they wouldn’t bruise, though they would heal easily with her immortality. When he finally stopped to catch his breath he was still hard inside her.

Oliver chuckled at Felicity’s jelly-like state. “We should get you cleaned up so you can nap.”

She wiggled her hips. “What about you?”

“I couldn’t get my brain to shut off. We’ll have to come back to that later.”

Felicity frowned. “What can I do?”

“Just be here with me.”

She tilted her head to catch Oliver’s gaze. “Always.”


	14. The war is over, but forever has just begun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of this part of the saga, and of course Malcolm has the final word.

Frank Bertinelli’s files told them a lot about the man’s sanity, or lack thereof, but nearly nothing about Malcolm Merlyn’s plans or involvement. The one thing they kept running across though were payments from a company called Sagittarius. The company didn’t actually exist, which made it the perfect cover for Merlyn. Felicity was able to trace some old travel expenditures back to it, but nothing solid or helpful.

After several months of searching for Malcolm they had gotten no closer to finding him. As time passed the fear inspired by his shadow lessened, until their lives were almost normal again. Oliver and Felicity finally went on their honeymoon, Thea and Roy started planning their future, and Tommy and Laurel became parents.

Letting the sun warm her exhausted face, Laurel slowly rocked her newborn in her arms as she stood by the windows in the living room of her apartment. Smiling at the sated gurgles she caught a shadow out of the corner of her eye. Gasping in surprise she turned quickly only to find Malcolm wearing a confident smile on his face.

She acted on instinct and shouted for her boyfriend. “Tommy!”

Malcolm’s face contorted into a smirk. “Sh sh sh. No one can hear you, dear. He went out and Sara’s sleeping the sleep of the mostly dead.”

The baby cried before he continued, “And there’s no need to frighten my grandson.”

Laurel held her son closer to her chest, curling a shoulder defensively. “Why are you here?”

“I came to see the newest Merlyn. Check that my legacy is well cared for.”

“He’s not a Merlyn. He’s a Lance.”

The grimace on Malcolm’s face made Laurel’s heart skip a beat.

“That is my grandson, he deserves my name!”

Laurel glared back. “He is Tommy’s son, and Tommy chose to keep you out of it.”

Malcolm regained his composure and let the threatening stiffness in his shoulders relax. “No matter, he’s still my blood, and I’ll come for him one day.”

With one final glance at the bundle in Laurel’s arms Malcolm soundlessly exited the apartment. Stunned, Laurel stood in the same spot for several minutes before finally, cautiously making her way into the kitchen where she had left her phone and dialed for reinforcements.

It was quickly and easily decided that Tommy and Laurel should move back into the Queen mansion, confident in its security and the safety of being surrounded by friends and family, especially since their son was showing signs of being a vampire himself rather than taking after his human mother as Tommy had hoped. They were all determined to keep Malcolm from ever meeting him.

The Queens and their allies spent years searching for Malcolm, only managing a glimpse of him every now and then, but eventually he disappeared altogether. Life went on – the family grew and spread out, the vampire community and hunters kept the peace, but Edward Smoak never stopped looked for Malcolm. And as Oliver and Felicity outlived their loved ones thanks to immortal blood, they couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ever find out what the evil mastermind had been up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ends the story of the war between the vampire families. To find out more about Malcolm’s evil and the story of Oliver and Felicity, read Time Marches On. Warning: the first chapter of that is really really sad because Oliver isn’t truly immortal, Felicity is. But if you want to read the flashbacks in that fic to see their life together, skip ch. 1.


End file.
